The DAFT Fit Test
The Dutch American Friendship Treaty is the widest door into the Netherlands for Americans, and almost nobody explains which lives actually fit through it. Pick yours and get the honest answer.
We are walking this exact road ourselves, which is why this page exists.
DAFT gives US citizens Dutch residence through self employment. The business must be Dutch registered, an eenmanszaak or at least 25 percent of a BV, genuinely active, with €4,500 of working capital kept on its books. Your clients can be anywhere, including all of them in America. What disqualifies you: not holding US citizenship, staying salaried by anyone including your own US company, or living off passive income. The first permit runs a maximum of two years, the renewal five, and the KVK registration plus the capital have to be assembled and evidenced after approval, not skipped.